Michigan Foreclosure Report

Michigan Foreclosures

Are you missing out on the biggest boom in Foreclosures in the Country? I hear that over there in California and Florida that people are actually having a hard time finding GOOD deals. Not here in good ol' Michigan! Our REO count is through the roof and still climbing considerably! This is just getting too easy! Want to find out how you can make big money in Michigan Real Estate? Sign up at my website here and get your hands on some of Michigan's killer foreclosure deals!

Google Docs & Spreadsheets

Google's at it again (Will these guys ever quit?) with their recent purchase of Writely.com they are now offering Google Documents And Spreadsheets. It's a pretty cool service, and It's Free. It's a basic windows format that allows you to easily create/upload word documents or spreadsheets from your Hard Drive or from anywhere on the internet and share them with others through the use of their email. Meaning that say, you and your partner(s) are working on some new ads for marketing preforeclosure leads..You could upload your Documents to Google and the others could see them exactly how you see them on your computer; and not only that but they could make any necessary changes that they saw fit. No more emailing files back and forth to 3 or 4 different people. This way everyone can see the revised ad/spreadsheet in real time without ever even having to really meet.

Yet another small step towards creating a completely virtual office.

Preforeclosure Basics

So you're prepping to send out that Direct Mail every 5-10 days now? Well, who're you gonna send it to? The sheriff's sale list is fine, but there's an alternate source that some people either don't take the time to look at or just plain don't know about. It's The Legal Newspaper. Whenever someone receives a Notice Of Default on a property it's published in this paper which is seperated by counties (Oakland, Wayne, & Macomb). In fact, you can find everything from storage auctions to estate sales in here. For $.50-$1.00.. It's worth a look.

Condo? Let It Go..

There are tons of great deals in Michigan, but naturally..there are a lot of not so great deals as well. You have to know what to look for, having an eye for these things is the difference between a quick flip..and sitting on a lemon for month in, month out. Some of those red lights are a little harder to see than others, but some practically jump off the page [or at least they should]

One of the definite "stay-aways" are Condos. Just 2 days ago I got a lead right in the midst of my target market, I put in the call and found out that it was a condo..and I had to let it go. It's a proven fact that Condos are the last thing to rise in a boom and the first thing to drop in a slump. An associate of mine had to find out the hard way. He's a big player in the game and he has no problem selling houses, but when it comes down to the condo that he thought he'd take a chance on I can't exactly say that he's having the same success. I think it's been about 8 months now, I'm rooting for him to make a sell on it soon!

There are enough good deals in Michigan to not have to screw around with condos, let em' go.

Marketing Continued | Direct Mail

Based on what I'm hearing, It seems to me that the majority of people who are running a marketing campaign use Direct Mail as their main source for lead generation. Well, I suppose there's nothing wrong with that if that's what you want to do, but if you're going to do something..well, do it right! There seems to be a fascination with pre-foreclosure as of late, and for obvious reasons. There's a lot of money to be made in preforeclosures, but the down part to that is..everyone and their uncle knows how to get a sheriff's sale list, and practically all of them send a postcard or a flyer every now and again. 

I accentuate the Now And Again.

The key to a (more) successful direct mail marketing campaign is consistency. You can't just send a "WE BUY HOUSES" postcard once or twice and sit back and say "okay, what the hell is going on?" or "Real Estate is a hoax, no one responds to this crap" You wouldn't believe how many times I've heard people say that. If you're going to do direct mail, you have to make sure you send one or two postcards, fliers, or any other creative things that you can dream up, once every 5 to 10 days. You have to understand that these people get TONS of boring postcards day in and day out, so you have to make sure that you stay in the running by keeping your name fresh in their minds. This is a numbers game, the more you send..the higher your chances of return.

And don't be afraid to be creative, run tests, try new things.

No one ever got too far ahead in life by doing exactly what EVERYONE else was doing.

Still Not Convinced?

Are you one of many who still buy into the "Gloom & Doom" that the media portays about the economy, and even worse real estate market? Well I say BALDERDASH!! But you probably already know that by now. So if I haven't convinced you, then maybe Countrywide Loans (The Largest Mortgage Lender In The Nation) can sway your opinion. Experts at the company predict that this "housing slump" only has 1 year to go before things pick back up again..Personally, for myself and my associates..I don't really see too much of a slump. I know plenty of people who are making big bucks in Michigan Real Estate despite the "housing slump" that we apparently are in. Sure many houses sit on the market for months and months at a time without receiving an offer..the same way a brand new Lamborghini that you are selling for only $30,000 that's closed up in your garage would sit for months without an offer. No one can buy it if no one knows about it! Are there a WHOLE LOT of houses on the market right now that aren't selling? The answer is yes; but there are a WHOLE LOT of houses on the market that ARE selling too..Why? Times change and so do marketing techniques along with everything else. How the heck do people expect to sell a house in a modern day market using out of date techniques?

But perhaps the days of just putting a sign outside are on their way to making a great comeback!

Read Countrywide's Full Story Here

Transforming Detroit

Detroit. Whether you love it or hate it with a passion, saying the situation in Michigan right now is beautiful is an understatement (for us as investors of course) and with groups like "One D" [Read The Full Story Here] doing their best to invest some serious time and money into transforming the Metro Detroit area into hmm..I don't know..something more like the rest of America's largest cities maybe?.. things will only be getting sweeter. 

Foreclosure rates are at an all time high, so finding the deals (if you know how to look) is absolutely no problem. If things follow this trend, which it most likely will, 2007 will top even this staggering 2006 record. Revamping the Metro area's school system, transit system, and giving the economy some restructuring should level some of those noses that many people have turned up at Detroit in the last few years.

But things like this don't make front page news, Good news tends to never have catchy headlines. We all know it, The "Gloom & Doom" stories about how awful Michigan's Economy is are what really sells papers.

I hope they wise up soon and start blanketing the city and surrounding areas with Wi-Fi. C'mon Detroit..Let's step up to the technology curve here!

The Marketing Of Tomorrow, Today! | Websites

Step #1 of transforming your business into a force to be reckoned with online is...Actually Getting Online! Don't fret if you don't know anything about HTML, Javascript, or any programming language for that matter. Making a website is a heck of a lot easier these days thanks to evolving technology. Registrars (Hosting Companies) such as GoDaddy.com & 1and1.com are fairly popular. There are plenty of them and Google will pull them right up for you, Just search "Web Hosting Services"..I personally recommend Godaddy. Their Templates provide ease for beginners as well as the ability for some customization for more advanced users. Top that off with a stellar customer support team and you have one great hosting service.

1and1 isn't so bad, they provide more webspace, etc. I didn't like their templates so much, I'm sure I wouldn't have had too much of a problem with them if they furthered the ability for customization like Godaddy. I ended up forwarding my Domains from 1and1 over to Godaddy..They're a bit cheaper..but unless you're familiar with Forwarding, and DNS Mapping..I'd say stay away from 1and1.


But assuming you just don't want to deal with building a website at all, well get a high school/college student to do it. Or advertise for some help in your local newspaper, there are tons of great services in there and I'm sure you won't have too much trouble finding someone.

Metro Area Foreclosure Rate Leads The Nation

Amazing,
Read The Full Story here

The Marketing Of Tomorrow, Today!

Like riddles? Here's one for you:

What never sleeps, grows by the thousands everyday, and can take you across the world and back in less than 3 minutes?

Give up?..The Internet! The power of modern day search engines make the possibilities virtually endless. Someone in California can type a few keywords and be reading about your business in Michigan.. The same way that you could type a few keywords and pull up a business based in The Philippines. But I'm sure you knew that.. right? I find it odd that in the 21st century that many people still haven't taken heed, or made an effort to become a part of this dominating force. The reality of it is, the world that we have all become accustomed to is slowly, but quite surely being replaced by a virtual reality world where business is conducted, and some serious money is generated.

Who Wouldn't Want To Be a Part Of That?

To Be Continued...